Hello my friend,
Welcome to this guided body scan meditation for emotional awareness.
This is a little bit different than a normal body scan where you're just paying attention to different parts of the body.
In this practice,
We're going to focus on how our emotions show up in different areas of our body and try to tune in to the physical sensations of those emotions,
Recognizing where they come up in your body and move through them and release them with mindfulness and self-compassion.
Emotions don't just exist in our minds,
They live in our bodies too.
Unprocessed anger may show up as chronic tension in the jaw.
Resentment may show up as tightness in your shoulders,
Sadness as heaviness in your chest,
Or anxiety as a knot in your stomach.
In this practice,
We're going to explore how your emotions manifest physically,
Bringing awareness to these sensations without judgment.
By simply noticing them and breathing into them,
We can begin to release emotional tension and create space for ease and breath.
So find a comfortable position either sitting and lying down.
I personally prefer lying down for body scans,
But please do what's right for you.
Allow your hands to rest gently by your sides or in your lap.
If you feel comfortable doing so,
Go ahead and close the eyes or soften your gaze.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and exhale slowly through your mouth.
Give your body permission to settle.
With each inhale,
Allow your breath to fill the lungs.
With each exhale,
Soften and release tension out of the body as you begin to settle in for this practice.
We're going to start in the area of the head,
Jaw and face.
Bring awareness to this space.
Notice if you might be holding any tension here.
Sometimes when we're stressed,
We furrow our brow,
We clench the jaw,
We laser-focus with the eyes and we carry a lot of internal mental tension.
So take a moment to just bring your awareness to these spaces.
Notice if there is any tension in your forehead,
Face or jaw.
If you do notice tension,
Take a deep breath in and as you exhale,
Allow your face to soften.
Imagine the tension slowly melting away.
If you did notice tension here,
Take a moment to reflect.
Was there a moment during your day or is there something on your mind that might be leading to emotions of frustration,
Stress,
Irritation or anxiety that's causing this tension inside of your face?
Next,
We're going to bring the attention to your neck and shoulders.
This,
My friend,
Is where we carry many of our burdens.
This is where you might be carrying the weight of all of your responsibilities,
Emotions that you just haven't been able to give voice to.
And maybe even you're experiencing some resentment that's holding tension in your neck and shoulders.
So take a moment to check in.
Do your shoulders feel heavy?
Do they feel tight?
Notice any of these discomforts without necessarily trying to change it.
And ask yourself,
What's leading to these physical experiences in my neck and my shoulders?
What's taking place here and what may have led to it?
With your next inhale,
I invite you to inhale and draw in a sense of ease.
And as you exhale,
Picture some of the weight lifting from your shoulders.
As if you're setting down a heavy backpack that you don't need to carry anymore.
Take a moment to breathe into that new sensation of lightness in your shoulders.
Now we'll move down into the chest and the heart space.
This is our space of relationships.
This is where we feel love and connection,
But also sadness and hurt.
As you breathe into this space,
Notice how your breath moves through your chest.
How does this area feel?
Open and light and warm?
Or maybe tight,
Heavy,
Or cold?
The heart space is where we often hold emotions like sadness,
Grief,
Love,
And connection.
But if we suppress or ignore any of these emotions,
They begin to take hold of this space within our bodies.
So take a moment to just breathe into this space.
If you feel any heaviness,
Imagine each inhale gently expanding your heart,
Creating space for breath and lightness.
With each exhale,
Soften any tension and perhaps letting go of any sadness or grief that's ready to soften.
If love and warmth are arising for you,
Allow yourself to feel it fully.
Let it radiate from your chest outward,
Filling your entire body.
Now let's move our attention down into our stomach and gut.
This space is deeply connected to our intuition.
If you've ever heard the phrase,
I've just got a gut feeling,
That's because our stomach and gut area can be connected to our inner knowing,
But is also often where anxiety and worry show up as a knotted stomach,
A churning,
Or a tightness.
So without judgment,
Simply observe.
If there's any discomfort here,
Imagine sending your breath into this space.
Let your belly rise and fall naturally as you inhale and exhale.
If your body's willing,
Imagine your stomach softening,
Letting go of any tension.
Now let's move down into your hips and lower body.
The hips are known for storing deep emotions.
Sometimes pride and strength,
But sometimes also fear and old,
Unprocessed feelings.
So take a moment to notice,
Do your hips feel tight or restricted?
Or do they feel open and pliable?
Imagine your breath flowing all the way down into your hips,
Bringing warmth and release.
With each exhale,
Imagine that if there is any suppressed emotion that needs to let go,
Give your body permission to let it go.
And if you feel some emotions coming up for you,
If you feel like you need to cry,
Then please do so.
That is your body releasing emotion,
Which is very healthy.
Finally,
Bring your attention down to your lower legs,
Feet and ankles.
Notice the sensation of them touching the surface beneath you.
Your feet connect you to the earth,
Offering grounding and stability.
With each breath,
Imagine yourself connecting deeply with the earth,
Anchoring you into the present moment and allowing you to feel steady and safe.
Now take a deep breath in and a long,
Slow exhale.
Begin to gently bring your awareness back to the present moment,
Wiggling fingers and toes,
Bringing small movement back into your body.
And when you feel ready,
You can begin to open your eyes.
Take a moment before you go to notice how you feel,
To notice what came up for you,
What emotions or thoughts you may have experienced as we moved through these different areas of the body.
If you need to write anything down that came up for you,
Do that now before you move on with your day.
Remember,
Emotions are not something to fight against.
They are a normal and natural part of you.
And by learning to notice and listen to them,
You give yourself the space to process them,
To be in relationship with them,
To understand them,
And ultimately,
To have a more healthy relationship with feelings,
With emotions.
Thank you so much for practicing this body scan with me today.
I'll see you next time.
Namaste.
